ScotFinn65 wrote:However, l have found myself driving more slowly as the years going bye when l visit the Highlands. I enjoy taking my time and absorbing the scenery (being cautious to keep an eye on the road, from time to time. Is this wrong?
We've got other threads telling us to take our time doing the hills and not to rush, now we've to rush to where we're going before we slow down to do the hills. Now I'm confused 😜
Seriously though, when I'm taking my time driving, the easy answer just seems to be to pull over often and be considerate to other road users
It is not wrong in itself as long as you are considerate to others and assist drivers behind to pass when safe i.e. don't put your foot down on the nice straight section then slam your foot on the brake at the next bend, and as long as absorbing the scenery isn't distracting you from the road and potential hazards.
The thing is, whilst you might be undertaking a leisure journey with all the time in the world, others are working and trying to get somewhere, may have tight deadlines have high demands place on them, so slowing them down is externalising costs on them. The UK seems to have gone down the road of not employing sufficient staff and squeezing more and more out of the existing ones. A few years ago when I took a taxi from Dundonnell hotel to Ullapool, we got chatting and the driver mentioned that cyclists can be seen as a nuisance because of their lack of speed, the lack of safe overtaking opportunities on Highland roads, and the unwillingness of some cyclists to pull over and let traffic past. I am a regular cyclist and find the anti-cycling nonsense thrown out by the tabloids as tedious but I can identify with this. There is a big difference between leisure and utility journeys. Driving to a car park to climb a hill is more utility than leisure, and if someone is driving a fair distance, being held up can mean the difference between climbing the hill and having to change plans because they no longer have enough time.